Pitching Aces Clash as Texas Takes On Arizona State

Texas survived an ugly first-round game against Southern Mississippi, and their reward is a matchup with one of the top pitchers in the College World Series: Arizona State's Mike Leake.

The Longhorns will counter with their own ace, Chance Ruffin, who is coming off a complete-game victory over TCU in the super regional round. Tonight's game will begin at 6 pm and be shown on ESPN2.

The relief pitching struggled for both Texas and Southern Miss in Sunday's opener, with the Longhorns winning, 7-6, in the bottom of the ninth on a hit batsman and three straight walks. Arizona State also found itself in a close contest, beating North Carolina, 5-2, in 10 innings to advance.

Both Texas and Arizona State held back their top pitchers in the opening round, anticipating tonight's key matchup. Ruffin is 10-2 for the Longhorns with a 3.02 ERA and 101 strikeouts, while the Sun Devils' Leake leads the nation with 16 wins and ranks second in ERA (1.36) and strikeouts (150). The junior right-hander was the eighth pick in last week's MLB draft, going to the Cincinnati Reds.

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